Why Disciple Making Movements?

What is all the “fuss” about? Why do people get so passionate about Disciple Making Movements or Church Planting Movements? Is it just another missions “fad”?

Reading this and you’ve been pursuing starting a DMM (Disciple Making Movement) for some time? Read on. Be encouraged and inspired once again. I’d love to hear in the comments why you got “on board” with the vision for DMMs. Tell us your story!

The God-sized dream of seeing movements of disciples started among the last, least and lost began for me more than 20 years ago. It’s morphed and changed through the years. I’ve had highs and lows. It still burns inside of me. It still gets me out of bed in the morning. Why?

I am a missionary kid. I grew up in West Africa. I caught a heart for lost people, for those who had never heard about Jesus from my father. I often went with him to remote African villages on a motorcycle, crossing rivers on rafts, trekking into the “bush” (the West African word for jungle) in order to share the good news with those who would have no other opportunity to hear it.

I won’t tell the full story here, but years later, God called my husband and I into church planting ministry among those who were “yet to hear.” We were young, pregnant with our first daughter, and in that early stage of language learning when we heard George Patterson speak and were introduced to what he called “Train and Multiply”. Our vision went immediately from the idea of starting one church to starting churches that started others.

As we looked at the challenge of the millions of lost people around us, we knew that something had to be different from past approaches. We had to work in such a way that more people could meet Jesus and have their lives transformed. We wanted to disciple a nation, not just one or two people- or even a few hundred! The only possibility of that was if we saw huge numbers of people come sweeping into God’s Kingdom.

We were deeply impacted by the lost condition of the people we lived among. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a dead body carried on shoulders down the street to the cremation site. I wonder if they got a chance to hear the gospel? It wreaked me.

Somehow we had to find ways for more people to hear! Somehow, we had to find ways for more to believe, and when they did, to be discipled. Somehow, we had to find a way where true exponential multiplication would happen. It was the only answer I could find to the lost condition of people apart from Jesus I encountered every day around me.

In Luke 19: 40 and 41, we read two seemingly disconnected verses.

40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41 “As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.”

What are my two main answers to the question Why DMMs?

1. He deserves their worship, and 2) His heart is broken for the Lost.

If we don’t make disciples of a lot of people, who make disciples of a lot more people until the world is filled with the glory of God and all the nations worship Him…the rocks will cry out. He MUST be worshiped. He is worthy of it.

Jesus saw Jerusalem and wept. His heart was broken.

Has He Broken Your Heart With The Things That Break His?

The millions around me who have never heard, compel me to do something. I want them all to hear! I want them all to have the chance to experience His love, transformation, and miracles as I have.

DMMs are the most logical way I can see massive numbers of lost people come to know Jesus in the nations where I live. DMMs are the fastest possible way to see these nations transformed and discipled.

I could give you lots of statistics as to Why DMMs? Maybe one day I’ll write another blog about that. For me, it just makes sense. Do the math. It’s not hard. Even for someone not great at math like me.

Multiplication is going to lead to more than addition. 🙂 It’s as simple as that.

We have to pursue discipleship methods and approaches that multiply rather than simply add new people to the family…to the Kingdom.

Ready to go after DMMs yet? Hungry to learn how to multiply disciples? Step by step resources and encouragement are available to help you.

• Get started by following this blog.
• Then, send me an email (dmmsfrontiermissions@gmail.com) and introduce yourself. That will sign you up for future email interactions that will help you get some great resources.

Been doing this for a long time? What is your WHY DMMs answer?

Let me know in the comments!